Page 4 of Wild Side (Vicious Reapers MC #3)

CHAPTER THREE

ZADIE

“Girl, you should not be going alone.”

Sable is standing beside my car, her eyes wide, and I can tell she is nervous. I’m not sure why she would be. This is my thing, my journey. I mean, sure, we’ve done almost everything together. But I think I need to do this one on my own.

“I think that’s exactly what I need to do,” I counter. “This is big, huge even, but I need to deal with it on my own.”

“I don’t think you should,” she murmurs. “You don’t really know these guys. Plus, that’s a long haul, even if you are flying in.”

I decided yesterday to get a plane ticket last minute, one way. I’ll figure out the way back later. I have enough money to fly home when I need to, but I didn’t want to have any constraints on time when I get there.

I want to make sure that Maverick knows everything he needs to know about me, about our baby.

And then give him the opportunity to let the information sink in before I come home.

Or maybe in my mind, I’ve created this whole scenario of him falling in love with me, marrying me, and making us a family. Either way, I need some time there.

“I know, but I made a big girl choice, and I need to deal with it like an adult.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having support, babe,” she says, he voice low, and she sounds like she might cry.

“Why do you really want to go?” I demand.

Because I know it’s not just because of me. I’ve known Sable my entire life, I’ve spent every single day with her one point or another, and she’s a friend, but she’s not that good of a friend. There is a reason she wants to go.

“Brake is pissed at me,” she mutters.

“So, you want to get away from him?”

She shrugs a shoulder. “Teach him a lesson and maybe have some fun with Goose.”

There it is. That is the truth, at least most of it. I have no doubt that there is more to whatever story she has in her head about why she wants to go with me. She probably wants to teach Brake some kind of lesson.

She tends to do that.

I don’t know why she thinks he’s going to settle down with her. He obviously doesn’t want to change their relationship, but maybe she’s like me and hoping for something magical to happen.

The truth of the matter is that I don’t want her to go with me. I love Sable, but she makes things difficult. If she doesn’t think I’m doing something the way she would do it, she won’t stop until I do whatever it is just the way she would.

Then she tries to convince me that it was the right thing to do. Even if it wasn’t. Even if it wasn’t what I wanted. And since I am already going to be in a stressful situation, I’m thinking I don’t need her to add to it.

“Why do you still play around with him?” I ask.

Sable shrugs a shoulder. “I love him.”

“Then, when I’m figuring my shit out, instead of running, why don’t you figure yours out with him?” I ask.

She narrows her eyes at me, then shakes her head once. Thankfully, she doesn’t push coming with me, and she also doesn’t say anything else. Instead, she just lifts her hand and motions for me to get in the car. I do, glad that she’s dropped the conversation.

We ride to the airport in silence, and when she stops at the unloading area, she turns to me. Her eyes find mine, and she gives me a sad smile.

“You’re right,” she exhales. “What Brake and I have is shaky and sad. I need to figure it out and end it. I’m wasting my time.”

She is wasting her time, but I don’t tell her that. Instead, I reach across the console and wrap my fingers around her wrists, holding on to her. My eyes don’t look away from her, my focus on her own as I dip my chin in a single nod.

“You deserve someone who can see all of your beauty, inside and out.”

She arches a brow, and her lips twitch into a smirk. “I don’t know about all of that. I’m a whole bitch, and you know it,” she says with a giggle.

I mean, it’s not a lie. She is a whole bitch, but she’s also one of the kindest people I know. She deserves to be loved by someone who wants to love her in the dark and in the daylight. Brake doesn’t do that.

“Call me. I’ll have my phone.”

“Update me,” she says.

“You, too.”

She shrugs a shoulder, but I know she won’t tell me the details. She never does. Sable wants to be seen as the wild and fun girl surrounded by happiness and freedom. If she has feelings or any kind of self-doubt, it takes that facade away.

I let her have that, mainly because I see past it. She doesn’t want to admit that she is scared, that she’s worried, that she’s in love with this man who possibly doesn’t give a shit about her outside of how he feels when she makes him come.

“Thank you, Sable. I love you,” I say, but before she can respond to me, I slip out of the car, then take my bag out of the back of her open trunk.

When I step onto the sidewalk, I give her a small wave. She does the same, giving me a smile and a wave, then pulls away from the curb. Turning toward the airport doors, I inhale a deep breath and move through the doors as they open.

I can’t believe I’m doing this. Alone. I’m walking into this airport and am going to get on a plane headed for Greensboro, where I’ll rent a car and take the one-hour drive into Thunder Rock. I don’t know where I’ll stay, what I’ll do, but I’m going to figure it out.

I don’t have any other choice.

Like he said, I ruined my life, and now I need to take charge and put the pieces back together or create a whole new puzzle of my own. Either way. I’m taking the first step, which is to tell Maverick that I’m pregnant with his baby, then go from there.

One step at a time.

One moment at a time.

One breath at a time.

MAVERICK

Climbing onto the back of my bike, I start the engine and look behind me.

Goose is standing against the wall, his eyes focused on me.

He doesn’t understand anything I’m going through, and explaining it to him would be fruitless.

Just like if the roles were reversed, I would probably feel the same way.

He pushes off the wall, turns toward the clubhouse, and slips inside without a wave, a smile, or even another glance. I’m pretty sure he’s pissed at me, definitely disappointed in me, if nothing else.

Backing out of the parking lot, I spin my bike around and head straight for the exit gate. I need to get away. I need to think.

Guiding my bike away from the clubhouse, I head straight for Virginia. The five-hour ride should clear my head, at least I hope it will. My mind slowly clears. I stop for fuel once, grabbing an energy drink, taking a smoke, and eating a bag of peanut butter M&M’s before I head back on the road.

When the port authority office comes into view, I know I should probably steer clear of it. What I should do is head straight for the actual docks and grease some palms, maybe try to get the security footage to randomly malfunction. I could do half a dozen different things to get what I want.

But I’m sick of this shit.

Completely fucking sick of it. We’ve had nothing but issues with the shipments from Hong Kong getting constantly held back because they want to extort more money from us. At this point, we’re going to lose money on these shipments. This is pointless. I’m about done with it all.

I don’t think this is worth it. I don’t care what other contracts we have.

This is becoming too difficult to navigate.

We need to figure out another avenue for income if this is all we’ve got going on.

I’m ready to end the surveillance industry altogether.

When we started, companies couldn’t buy what they wanted online overseas.

It’s been in decline for years, and while we supplement with other avenues of sales, even that is lackluster at best. We make money, but I think we need to move along.

This was supposed to be easier, cutting out the middleman altogether. Here I am, ready to get involved with the goddamn port authority because someone is trying to extort us, and I’m going to assume it’s them since our shit was supposed to be released from the shipping containers two months ago.

As I walk into the building, I know exactly who I want to talk to. Bullet and Ivy have poured over all the contracts. They’ve been in contact with everyone and anyone down here at this office. I know exactly who to speak to.

Kyle Alexander is the man in charge of imports.

There is a woman sitting behind the front desk. But I already know that Alexander’s office is on the second floor. I wonder how high up in the authority he can be if his office is on the second floor. I would think the top floor would be the big dogs. But what the fuck do I know?

With a smirk, I move past the woman behind the desk, even when she calls out for me to stop. I don’t really give much of a fuck about what she wants me to do. Instead, I punch the elevator button and step inside the waiting car.

When the doors of the elevator open, I take one step out into the hallway. Turning my head, I check the different doors that line the hall and find his office quickly. His name is stuck to the door with large letters. This fucker is full of himself and loves not only his name but his title as well.

How fucking ridiculous.

I walk straight into his office, don’t even bother knocking. Closing the door behind me, I move farther into the space as I tilt my head to the side as I stand in front of Alexander. He lifts his head slowly, and when his gaze finds mine, he holds it.

“You know, I could have you arrested for trespassing?”

He could, I’m sure. I also don’t give a fuck. Arrest my ass.

“What is it going to take for this deal to go through?” I ask, ignoring his chatter about arresting me.

“Deal?” he asks, attempting to feign innocence or ignorance. Either way, it’s annoying.

Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I clear my throat. I’m not going to throw myself under any fucking bus, but at the same time, I don’t want him playing fucking stupid, either. I want this done so I can get back on my bike and think about my predicament for another five hours.